Music Discoveries: 'I'm Writing a Novel,' by Father John Misty

Wednesday

Sep 11, 2013 at 5:46 PMSep 11, 2013 at 5:58 PM

We should be just talking about the new video for Miley Cyrus' “Wrecking Ball.” But … yeah. We're not going to do that. So if you want to watch Miley Cyrus nude on wrecking ball (and licking the chain), then you can do so here. We'll wait.

Is that out of your system? Good, because the song most likely to actually get you through the rest of the week is the completely awesome new offering from Father John Misty, “I'm Writing Novel.”

“I ran down the road, pants down to my knees,” sings Joshua Tillman, late of Fleet Foxes. “screaming 'Please come help me. That Canadian Shaman gave a little too much to me/ and I'm writing a novel because it's never been done before.”

And it just goes from there. This song is witty, with bright, vivid lyrics and an infectious melody … a great middle-of-the-week burnout song. What's amazing is how upbeat the music is, even as Tillman paints a picture of complete disintegration.

“ I went to the backyard to burn my only clothes,” he sings, “ And the dog ran out and said 'you can't turn nothing into nothingness with me no more'/ Well I'm no doctor but that monkey might be right/ And if he is I'll be walking him my whole life.”

Every line sung is surprising, and nothing feels gratuitous. What's more, each line seems to make its own sort of sense, no matter how insane the portrait becomes. Tillman paints a wasteland, of sorts, but it's an appealing sort of wasteland, and if one might be better served not settling there, at the very least it sounds like it's worth a visit. (Victor D. Infante)